Sorting Out The Truth In The Marketing Of “Conflict Free Diamonds”
~ By Marc Choyt, Publisher, fairjewelry.org
Introduction: This article is for the consumer searching for “ethically sourced” diamonds.
Everyone involved in profiting from diamonds, from NGOs who raise the blood diamond issue to their donors, DeBeers, to the average jeweler, markets to a target audience. In the retail sector, issues of quality and price are in the forefront and information on the “4 Cs” is easily available.
The issue of ethically sourced diamonds is more difficult. My purpose here is to cut through marketing spin to empower those who want to purchase a diamond that is fairly sourced from mine to market.
Kimberly Certified “Conflict Free“
Diamonds are either mined by Artisanal Small Scale Miners (ASM) —perhaps moving a ton of gravel and over a day; or highly mechanized Large Scale Mines (LSM) moving massive amounts of earth and rock per day. Diamonds from poor ASM miners have fueled regional conflicts in Africa, resulting in “blood diamonds,” which are also known as “conflict diamonds”.
The Kimberly Process, set up as a sector response to the black market diamond trade that fueled regional conflicts, attempts to regulate the entire diamond sector. Kimberly is self regulated and enforced by each country that has signed on; consequently, how the treaty is interpreted and applied varies greatly. Some diamond producing countries, such as Venezuela, operate outside of Kimberly.
Every jewelry company in the world will claim to be Kimberly Compliant, selling only “conflict free” diamonds. The World Diamond Council states that less than one percent of diamonds are “conflict diamonds”, funding wars on the Ivory Coast and now, possibly, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To say that only one percent of diamonds were being mined and sold outside of the Kimberly Process, however, would be inaccurate.
Because diamonds are easily transported and valuable, poor miners bypass regulated diamond dealers to get a better price for their rough stones. Once a diamond arrives in a polisher’s hand, it will be cut and sold. It is likely that the majority of diamonds sold outside of the Kimberly Process, known as “conflict diamonds,” are simply black market diamonds and do not necessarily fund wars.
These complex issues fuel misleading terminology in the market place that makes it difficult to know what it is supporting. The vast majority of people purchasing a diamond are interested in getting the best price. For those who are also motivated by ethical concerns, it is best not to get too caught up in the internet marketing of “conflict free,” diamonds. Everybody is “conflict free” and Kimberly Certified. The critical issue for someone who wishes to shop their values is, exactly where was the diamond mined and cut?
Diamonds are found all over the world and each region has its own issues. I will focus on Africa and Canada, which is where most diamonds are found these days.
African Diamonds
The African diamond trade is drenched in colonial history, cartels and blood. Each country in Africa has its own problems: but a recent event might offer some macro insights.
Over the last two years a large diamond field was discovered in Zimbabwe. In late November, 2008, helicopter gun ships and police with dogs massacred large numbers of small scale diamond miners. Yet soon after these deaths, the miners were back in the fields.
It is hard for people who have not visited poor countries to imagine living in deeply corrupt, hopeless conditions. The diggers dig because it is the best way for them to survive. In many African countries, meager diamond mining is better than farming in parched fields.
These Zimbabwe stones, like stones from the Congo and Ivory Coast, will be smuggled to the back streets of Mumbai, Antwerp or New York, mixed in with certified Kimberly diamonds and sold around the world. Also, diamonds mined and cut under horrendous human rights conditions, in Angola, for example, can be Kimberly certified. Events like these might make the ethically minded consumer shy away from all African diamonds, but that too is a mistake.
Large scale mining by companies, such as Rio Tinto and DeBeers, are crucial to the economies of successful African countries. South Africa and Botswana are often legitimately pointed to as African success stories in part because of the diamond trade. One wants to support small scale mining of diamonds as well, but this has proven much more difficult.
Canadian Diamonds
Canada’s four large diamond mines are among the most regulated in the world and there is little difference between them. Massive environmental studies are conducted regularly. Native people have been compensated.
Almost all diamonds are gathered in central polishing locations where they are mixed up regardless of their sourcing. Canadian diamonds with their tiny “Canada Mark” are one exception.
Yet the infrastructure required to transport millions of gallons of petrol to run the machinery and generators in the arctic tundra, creates disruption to the environment. In what some people call North America’s last Serengeti, wolverines feed on the remnant trash from the mines and some caribou herds have seen massive declines over the past few years. The Canadian diamond industry is part of a larger trend that is slowly destroying the arboreal landscape.
The marketing of Canadian diamonds as the ethical choice has also at times created serious fault lines in the jewelry sector, particularly from those passionately concerned about the development in Africa. The workers in a Canadian diamond field are paid in a few days what an African artisan diamond digger might make in a year.
Making Your Choice
Diamonds, like lumber, steel and oil, are a commodity and their extraction has a price. The notion of “conflict free” does not include human rights issues, labor issues or environmental issues. But you now know enough to make a more nuanced choice, keeping in mind that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good.
One thing I have not mentioned: lab created diamonds. If you feel that the talismanic quality of converting coal to diamond under the earth is not important, consider industrially grown diamonds, marketed as “created diamonds“.
The advantage of buying Canadian is that the mining and cutting is done in a highly responsible, regulated manner. But in Africa, particularly in Namibia and Botswana, the cutting edge of large scale companies are “beneficiation” projects. Companies are mining and cutting in those countries, supporting real economy. This represents a “best practice” in ethical conduct for a large multinational which obviously functions primarily to make money, not solve the ills of Africa.
Within a few years, we will be seeing organized cooperatives of small scale miners selling diamonds. Supporting projects, once on line, can have profound positive influence on some of the poorest areas of the world.
As a consumer, you can support the best practices in the jewelry sector by finding a company that is above average in considering these issues—perhaps one that sells fairly traded gemstones and wedding rings made with 100% recycled precious metal, or even “fair trade” gold from projects such as Oro Verde, supported by ARM. Ask them specifically about their diamond supply chain, from mine to market. In doing this, you are creating a market demand that can speed along this process of accountability within the diamond industry.
